"Michael's confidence was affected by the pressures, injustice and vitriol of external circumstances. Period," he continued. "Name-dropping Michael don't make you cool and won't win you votes. Especially when using botched facts."

During CNN's GOP town hall in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday, Trump claimed he "knew the real story" about the legendary King of Pop, whom he considered a "very good friend."

"He was an unbelievably talented guy," the 69-year-old Republican frontrunner said. "He lost his confidence. He lost tremendous confidence because of, honestly, bad, bad, bad surgery. He had the worst. He had people that did numbers on him that were just unbelievable. Facially, you know, the plastic surgeons."